Trucks, boats, automobiles, and other vehicles are commonly equipped with various electronic modules and devices to perform functions related to the operation of the vehicle and/or services for vehicle occupants. Examples of electronics modules typically employed to assist in the control and/or operation of the vehicle include transmission control modules for controlling the operation of a vehicle transmission, engine control modules for controlling the operation of the vehicle engine, anti-lock brake system (ABS) modules for providing ABS braking capability, suspension control modules for regulating the operation of the vehicle suspension system, airbag modules for regulating the deployment of vehicle airbags in the event of an accident, and stability control system modules for providing improved vehicle handling in potentially unstable driving situations. Examples of electronics modules typically employed in a vehicle to provide vehicle occupants with services include vehicle audio modules for providing analog and/or digital radio services and CD audio services to vehicle occupants, global positioning system (GPS) modules for providing vehicle location information to vehicle occupants, emergency services modules, such as, for example, OnStar®, for providing vehicle occupants with concierge and/or safety related services, satellite modules for transmitting and/or receiving audio and/or data to and from the vehicle, cellular phone modules for providing a cellular communication link to occupants of the vehicle, and wireless transmit and/or receive modules for providing vehicle occupants with a wireless interface between portable electronics devices and electronics devices located in the vehicle.
Conventional vehicle electronics modules and/or devices described above generally may be located in an electronics enclosure to protect the electronics devices. Electronics components that make up the electronics modules and/or devices are typically attached to printed circuit boards that provide electrical connections to other electronics components attached to the printed circuit boards, and that serve to support the various electronics components. When enclosed in an electronics enclosure, typical vehicle electronics modules or devices are connected to devices external to the electronics enclosure by means of connectors configured to carry electrical signals between the external devices and the vehicle electronics modules and/or devices located in the electronics enclosures. These connectors typically take the form of ribbon cables connected to the printed circuit boards located inside the electronics enclosure, or multi-pin shrouded connectors connected to the printed circuit boards located inside the electronics enclosure.
Although ribbon cables can provide a means for providing signals to and from the electronics enclosed in the electronics enclosure, the use of ribbon cables can require the size of the electronics enclosure to be increased due to the need for the ribbon cable to extend beyond the edges of the electronics enclosure. Although shrouded multi-pin connectors can provide a means for providing signals to and from the electronics enclosed in the electronics enclosure, the use of a shrouded multi-pin connector can require the thickness of the electronics enclosure to be increased so that the shroud of the connector can be securely attached to the electronics enclosure. In addition, pins for shrouded connectors and ground connections in typical electronics enclosures are generally soldered, using solder interconnects, to printed circuit boards located inside the enclosures, requiring both additional space for the solder connections, and additional processing steps to apply the solder. The typical products required for solder interconnect connections include solder alloy, interconnect pins, and a printed circuit board with corresponding printed circuit board holes. The space required for solder interconnects can be large, depending on the number of input and output signal connectors, and may not be practical when space is limited. Solder interconnect processing typically requires space limitations, referred to as keep-out zones, with respect to component placement on the printed circuit board. Solder interconnect processing may also require additional materials, such as pallets, to facilitate the process, and may also require special component placement equipment.
Due to the typically limited amount of space available for various vehicle electronics modules, it is generally desirable to provide for electronics enclosures that are as small as possible and relatively impervious to external harmful environmental factors, while providing for reliable electrical connections to devices external to the electronics enclosure. This can be especially true for transmission control modules, in which the electronics housing and associated connections are typically required to fit into a very small space, tolerate vibration, withstand transmission temperatures greater than 140 degrees centigrade, and be surrounded by transmission fluid while remaining sealed such that the transmission fluid does not enter the electronics enclosure.
What is needed is a reliable, low-profile, reduced size vehicle electronics enclosure that provides reliable connections to external devices while withstanding high temperatures and vibration.